Archive for September 2015

Please join us on Thursday Evening, October 15th, at 7:30 P.M. at St. Stanislaus Memorial Post, American Legion, 519 Leonard Street. The agenda includes reports on sales of C&B chance books, the upcoming sale of Christmas cards and Keep Christ in Christmas lapel pins and decals and an upcoming Football Fundraiser! Hope to see you there!

Pope Francis’s historic visit to the United States has inspired our nation toward a greater commitment to the flourishing of all of creation through respect for the dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn. This week we have the opportunity to put this call into action.

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider a bill, H.R. 3495, “The Women’s Public Health and Safety Act,” which will allow states the freedom to exclude abortion providers from Medicaid funding. Please contact your representative with this message and encourage him or her to vote for this important legislation. Taxpayers should not be forced to fund the abortion industry, either directly or indirectly.

In his address to the U.S. bishops last week, Pope Francis reminded us of our responsibility to speak out to protect life:

The innocent victim of abortion, children who die of hunger or from bombings, immigrants who drown in the search for a better tomorrow, the elderly or the sick who are considered a burden, the victims of terrorism, wars, violence and drug trafficking, the environment devastated by man’s predatory relationship with nature – at stake in all of this is the gift of God, of which we are noble stewards but not masters. It is wrong, then, to look the other way or to remain silent.

Supporting this legislation is one small but important step we can take on behalf of those who need of our protection. Thank you once again for your efforts on behalf of human life.

Congress is set to vote in the coming days on three important pro-life measures. In the House, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act (H.R. 3134) would put a one-year moratorium on funding for the organization unless it agrees to abandon its abortion practice. Also in the House, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 3504) provides federal criminal and civil penalties for failing to provide care to an infant who has survived an abortion attempt. Next week, the Senate is expected to take up the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (S. 1553), which bans abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, the point at which experts agree that the unborn feel pain. Please contact your elected representatives in support of these measures.

Click here to take action on the Defund Planned Parenthood Act (H.R. 3134)

Click here to take action on the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 3504)

At the heart of these three pieces of legislation is recognition of the dignity of the unborn child. In the past several weeks, through the release of several undercover videos, the United States has received a distinct call to reexamine its conscience regarding abortion, which claims the lives of over a million unborn children every year in this country.
As you may know, most of the videos show or explain some aspect of the harvesting of organs for monetary compensation, including the grisly details of how these organs are extracted from recently aborted babies, many of them late-term.

Congress has held two hearings, one in the House Judiciary Committee, and one in the Energy and Commerce Committee, investigating the practices of Planned Parenthood and shining a light on this disregard for human life.

I was moved recently to see this video interview of Utah Congresswoman Mia Love discussing the Planned Parenthood videos: “Here we are in the United States of America, and our job is to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—first and foremost life,” she said.

There simply is no good reason for taxpayers to fund Planned Parenthood or any organization that performs abortions.

The Knights of Columbus is committed to assisting our Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering in the Middle East. At this year’s Supreme Convention, I announced a “Season of Truth” dedicated to raising awareness of their plight, and the plight of other religious minorities in the region.

The violence in the Middle East has led to many deaths and the greatest refugee crisis since WWII. Over four million people have been displaced. Among the most affected are Iraqi and Syrian Christians, who are the victims of ongoing systematic cleansing and persecution. While the Christian population in Iraq once numbered above a million, violence has reduced that number by more than 65%. This human catastrophe has drawn commentary from Pope Francis, who said this of the persecution:

Today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus. In this third world war, waged piecemeal, … a form of genocide is taking place.

As Knights of Columbus we cannot be part of what Pope Francis has called the “complicit silence” of many who hear of these atrocities and do nothing. We must act.

To date, we have donated more than $4 million to relief efforts in Iraq and Syria through the Knights of Columbus Christian Refugee Relief Fund. We have also launched a website and released a commercial to raise awareness of the crisis. However, more assistance is needed, as the response from the international community has been woefully inadequate.

Please go to christiansatrisk.org to learn more about this humanitarian emergency and to make a donation that will provide material assistance to these refugees. Please also consider sharing this message with your family and friends.

As Knights of Columbus, we are called to stand in solidarity with all those Christians around the world who are suffering from violent persecution, offering spiritual and material assistance to these victims of crimes against humanity. Please pray daily for our Christian brothers and sisters—for their perseverance in faith and hope, the improvement of their living conditions, and the restoration of peace in their land.